Battery D First Rhode Island Light Artillery in the Civil War

by George C. Sumner

An instance of the perverseness of these animals came very near depriving the battery of one of its most valued members, Sergeant Spencer, of the first piece, who found himself at the beginning of the execution of this order to change positions, with his gun limbered, to which was attached a team of mules, but without a driver, who had mysteriously disappeared. There were none of his companions present who felt competent to drive this team, nor did the sergeant himself have the utmost confidence in his ability to successfully manage them; but something must be done, and that quickly.

Riding up to the nigh wheel mule he seized the jerky-line—the use of which he knew to consist of a rapid succession of jerks when it was desired that the leaders should turn to the right, while a steady pull would cause them to turn to the left—and started the team. It was his desire that the gun should move in the middle of the road, but the mules preferred the side close to the fence, and as they were masters of the situation, that was where the gun moved.

It was very uncomfortable for our comrade, the uneven character of this part of the road constantly throwing the wheel mules against his horse and obliging him to lean for support upon the rail fence at his side. Very little progress had been made, and the sergeant had but just rested his hand upon the fence when a rebel shell carried away the uprights of the fence within a foot of his hand. It was a natural impulse which caused him to remove his hand instantly from its resting place. This convinced Sergeant Spencer that it was time to assert his authority over those mules. Dropping the jerky-line, he rushed to the leaders, forced them into the road, and soon had the gun up with the rest of the battery.

This last position held by our battery, was upon very high ground, overlooking the entire field occupied by both Union and Confederates, and save an occasional disappearance behind a ravine or into scattered clusters of woods, the manœuvering of the Ninth and Twenty-third Corps was in plain view. It was a grand panoramic martial picture which was unfolded to our vision that afternoon.

The rebel host, commanded by Gen. Longstreet, upwards of twenty thousand strong, composed of such well-known fighting troops as McLaw's and Hood's divisions, of Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi regiments, to which had been added for this occasion Buckner's division, commanded by Gen. B.R. Johnson, had started from Chickamauga, flushed with their recent victory over Gen. Rosecrans, upon a pleasure trip up the Tennessee Valley as far as Knoxville.

Pardonably proud were the first two divisions of that army at the record of their prowess and success gained upon many of the hardest fought battlefields of the war; and when camp rumors placed the foe opposed to them to consist of a single corps of inexperienced troops, it was not surprising that they should have entered upon this campaign with a feeling that there would hardly be excitement enough in the journey to make it interesting. This feeling was strengthened somewhat when, upon arriving at Huff Ferry, on the Tennessee River, they found us so willing to leave their front and retreat.

It is entirely probable that our foes entered upon this, their first battle with us, having very little respect for our fighting abilities, and a somewhat exaggerated opinion of their own, forgetting that "pride goeth before a fall," and that it is always well to respect your enemy's ability until you have proved his weakness.

The independent, indifferent way in which the rebel skirmish line advanced, has already been described. The advance of his main force in three columns, soon followed the repulse of his skirmishers, and then began to occur surprises of which our enemy had little dreamed.

The eight or ten batteries of the Ninth and Twenty-third Corps opened upon their lines as soon as they became uncovered, with such an accuracy of range and correct judgment of distances as to keep the air in front and about them well filled with bursting shells and case shot, which must have convinced them that if these were new and inexperienced troops which were opposing them—which they had been told we were—then we must have made wonderfully good use of our time.

It will be easy, they think, to brush asunder this line of blue which they see just in advance; but this line of blue rises up and delivers volley after volley into the rebel ranks, absolutely refusing to be brushed aside, and in a moment our over-confident foe is falling back in a confused, uncertain way, as though they were not quite sure what had happened. Indeed, it required one trial more before they were willing to believe that our troops would not throw down their arms and retreat at their approach.